Tej

Just started a Tej or Tij for some. If you don't know it's a traditional Ethiopian honey drink (I think it's closer to a beer). Letting it soak for a week in the Geso (Gesho) sticks for a week then I'll rack and pitch Lavin D-47 yeast. Recipes I've read say it's ready to drink in 3-5 weeks but we'll see about that.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1448053773.444247.jpg

Sounds unique and interesting.

Can you tell us more about what you did to lead up to this point?

Well, the traditional way that it's made is you put the Gesho sticks in with the water and honey. The natural yeasts on the stick multiply and do the fermenting. I boiled some water in a kettle and poured them over the sticks (probably killing all the natural yeast) to saturate them a little, added 4lbs of honey and cool water. I'm going to let that sit for a week then pitch D-47 let that ferment for 4 weeks and serve (gallon batch.) Also, at the suggestion of my Ethiopian friend I added a cinnamon stick and a Dorot ginger cube.

It's supposedly better consumed young and not so good as it ages, but I'm going to age a 12oz bottle and see how that goes...

Alchemymead said:

It's supposedly better consumed young and not so good as it ages, but I'm going to age a 12oz bottle and see how that goes...

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I've made several batches of T'ej now and can vouch that it does improve with age if you add your own yeast. With a wild ferment, it may sour over time and not age well...unless you like sour.

I regularly make t'ej but 4 lbs of honey in 1 gallon is a great deal of honey, isn't it? ... that said, you can also add kitel (the leaves of the plant) - I add about 1-2 oz of leaves in a bag and allow the leaves and the stems (inchet) to steep in the mead for about three weeks before I rack the mead from the plants. Surprisingly, I find that even after 3 weeks the t'ej is still actively bubbling even when I have pitched 71B yeast.. But Harry Klomans suggests to expect such bubbling...

This is one of my favorite meads.

I hope that your jar is not sealed... Half the weight of the sugar (2 lbs ) will be converted to CO2...

Not tried to drink it in 5 weeks but traditionally I am certain that it is made to be drunk around the 5 week mark... But 4 lbs of honey in a gallon may require a longer aging period. I think Klomans suggests a 1: 3 or 1: 4 ratio of honey to water... I usually aim for a starting gravity of 1.080- 1.090 which is about 2.25 - 2.5 lbs of honey in a gallon

Yeah I was just starting in that jar and no it's not sealed but in the fridge with a regulator set at 70-72 degrees, the jar was just to let the Gesho sticks soak. Yeah my ratio is a little less than 2:1 honey and I was going to do 2, 1 gallon batches and mess around with the second.

I was going to get the leaves but different recipes have different ways of doing it and the Ethiopian lady I know just gave me that and said she usually makes it with cinnamon and a little ginger. So I just did the simpler recipe with ingredients I have.

minus the gesho i feel like this recipe is so simple its found all around the world. i bet egypt made mead like this way way long ago. perhaps event the romans made mead like this.
the recipe is so simple i feel like the natural yeasts and things that make it, go way back to the begining of mead making! just my thoughts...

i will make a batch of this one day but i am currently brewing joes ancient right now.

Can you describe the taste of t'ej? What flavor does gesho impart?

Yeroc said:

Can you describe the taste of t'ej? What flavor does gesho impart?

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A gesho flavor It's mildly bitter and a little woody - it doesn't overpower the honey

+1 bernard, just split and put in two one gallon jugs, with the cinnamon and ginger it's got a little bit of a hoppy bitterness that's not overpowering or annoying. This ish is gonna be delicioso

Alchemymead said:

+1 bernard, just split and put in two one gallon jugs, with the cinnamon and ginger it's got a little bit of a hoppy bitterness that's not overpowering or annoying. This ish is gonna be delicioso

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Update?

Actually just tasted some last night, it's different but good. I just gotta go taste some real Tej at an Ethiopian restaurant...

Steed said:

minus the gesho i feel like this recipe is so simple its found all around the world. i bet egypt made mead like this way way long ago. perhaps event the romans made mead like this.
the recipe is so simple i feel like the natural yeasts and things that make it, go way back to the begining of mead making! just my thoughts...

i will make a batch of this one day but i am currently brewing joes ancient right now.

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Not sure I totally agree. T'ej IS the gesho. So that is a little like saying golf is the same as soccer if golf did not use clubs and the hole was a net and 11 people were kicking the ball ...Traditional t'ej uses the bacteria in the gesho to ferment the honey. So we are not in fact talking about a single strain of yeast here but more probably yeast and other bacteria. Honey wines that use different wild yeasts and no bacteria to ferment will taste different AND the gesho itself - the leaves and the twigs impart a flavor.. So sure the ancient Egyptians may have made honey wine using a similar process and the Romans may have made wine using a similar process, but their wines and t'ej may not have tasted very similar - the ingredients are different even if the processes may be similar... which is why banana wine tastes very different from wine made from pomegranates or grapes. and why wine made with one strain of yeast , say 71B will taste different from the same fruit fermented with a different variety, say QA23...

After tasting it ^ this is absolutely true. The Gesho (which is a type of buckthorn) gives it a flavor that is quite unique. Next time I make some I'm not using any added yeast, straight traditional.

Alchemymead said:

After tasting it ^ this is absolutely true. The Gesho (which is a type of buckthorn) gives it a flavor that is quite unique. Next time I make some I'm not using any added yeast, straight traditional.

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I am unsure that when you make a "straight traditional" t'ej you ferment with yeast or with bacteria. If bacteria (much like a lactic fermentation) then you might find that the t'ej gets more and more sour if you allow it to age.

Yes, it's said that it's better young. Drinkable in 3-5 weeks

It's both, I think, that ferments: natural yeast on the Gesho + bacteria present on it.